Pamala Silas Named Executive Director of Native American Journalists Association

Rhonda LeValdo in Native Briefs. Discussion »

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA – The Native American Journalists Association's board of directors has selected an outstanding leader and nonprofit manager to be our next executive director.

Pamala Silas – Menominee

Pamala Silas, Menominee, joins NAJA after most recently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Indian Sciences & Engineering Society in Albuquerque for eight years.

We are thrilled to welcome Silas to NAJA as we work to build a strong future for our organization and serve Native journalists. We look forward to introducing her to all NAJA members during our national conference July 18-21 in Tempe, Arizona.

Silas has an impressive background, with more than 20 years of experience of working with a wide variety of community-driven projects and membership organizations.

She also has provided leadership on many community initiatives, such as Streetwise Newspaper in Chicago and Working Mother Media's Best Companies for Women of Color. As executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization of Chicago, she organized tenants and community groups to improve housing conditions in Chicago's most impoverished neighborhoods.

While at AISES, Silas grew and strengthened the organization, built up its membership and led the relaunch of the award-winning magazine, Winds of Change.

As executive director of NAJA, Silas will work to rebuild and establish new partnerships for our organization, and develop a strategic plan with the board of directors that ensures we meet our commitments to serving our members, communities and the media industry.

An enrolled member of the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin and descendant of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, Silas returned to her home city of Chicago from Albuquerque this fall. She starts with NAJA on Monday, working primarily from Chicago while keeping in constant contact with our office and operation at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

The selection of Silas as NAJA's executive director comes after an intensive, three-month search. Vice President Mary Hudetz coordinated the search, with support from committee members Joe Grimm, Shirley Sneve, Patty Talahongva and Christina Good Voice, as well as the board of directors. The board would like to thank the committee members for giving their time and expertise to the process.

Please join me in welcoming Silas, and do not hesitate to contact NAJA staff and leadership with questions or feedback.

Rhonda LeValdo, Acoma Pueblo, is a current faculty member in Media Communications at Haskell Indian Nations University, and the President of the Native American Journalists Association.

posted December 10, 2012 7:30 am est